Thursday, December 20, 2012

Making a Difference, and Merry Christmas

"Oh, Father, it feels just like we're in a Victorian Christmas card!" exclaimed Tiny Tim.

I think we’ve all heard of
cases where one person makes a difference. The 1960 Presidential election was
won by less than one vote per precinct. Occasionally there are stories in the
paper about people with humble jobs who manage to give a great deal of money to
charity. Then there are those charismatic figures like Dr. Paul Farmer chronicled in Tracy
Kidder’s Mountains beyond Mountains who
through their energy, hard work and compassion make a difference. Sometimes,
though, we think that as ordinary individuals we can’t make much of a
difference.

Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol has probably
contributed to more people’s image and idea of Christmas than any other work
outside the Nativity story in the Gospels. Yet, in 1842, the year before the story
was written, Dickens was almost a failure as a writer. He had had great success
with his first five novels, but the next three books did not do as well. His father had spent time in a debtors’
prison (the dumbest idea ever thought of) and, at age 31 with a
large family to support, Dickens saw himself sliding toward the same fate.

It was A Christmas Carol that saved him.
Written in six weeks, it was not enthusiastically received by his
publishers, so Dickens took it upon himself to be responsible for the book’s
publication. The publisher received a
commission based on sales and Dickens bore all other costs. The financial
rewards came slowly, but the book had three printings by the end of 1843. It was immediately and immensely popular.

Christmas in Dickens’ time
was a minor holiday, observed (if at all) without lights and trees and presents
and parties and cards. Something in his
story struck a chord, and the observance of Christmas began to change, no doubt
helped by Queen Victoria
whose family was regarded as the ideal for British society. Prince
Albert was from Germany,
and brought many Christmas customs with him. In A Christmas Carol, Dickens combined two traditions of old Christmas
observances—telling ghost stories and marvelous tales of the holiday. There’s a
reference to this custom in the popular song, “It’s the Most Wonderful Time of
the Year” (perhaps best known in a version by Andy Williams who had the
unfortunate habit of pitching songs out of his range). The lyrics go, “There’ll
be scary ghost stories and tales of the glories/ Of Christmases long long ago.”
Dickens has four ghosts (Marley is a ghost, remember?) and the irrepressible
high spirits of the Cratchits in his story. The transformation of Scrooge from
miser to philanthropist is a heartwarming tribute to the power of the season. A
recent book on A Christmas Carol is
titled The Man Who Invented Christmas
and while that might be an oversimplification, Dickens’ work shows what one
person can do.

There is one notable coincidence
about the story. In 1843, Sir John Callcott Horsley commissioned the first
Christmas card with an illustration by artist Henry Cole, possibly under the
influence of Dickens’ tale. The English
Victorians were crazy for sending cards with pictures (landscapes, mostly) to each other, and Cole’s
role in introducing the Penny Post three years earlier might have been a factor
in producing the cards. The picture showed a family with a small child all
drinking wine together. (The illustration was controversial, although giving
children watered wine at the time was not unusual. At least it wasn’t gin, which was
tremendously popular in that day among all classes and a real drag on the society
and economy.) 2050 cards were printed and sold for a shilling each.

Obviously, the custom of
sending Christmas cards has grown enormously since 1843. The U.S. Census Department estimates that 1.9
billion cards were sent in 2005 (Who knew that the Census keeps track of
matters like that? I don’t recall being
asked how many cards I sent on the last census.
I must have gotten the short form.) Valentine’s Day is next with a
comparatively paltry 192 million.

The point is that one (very
talented) person changed the face of the Christmas celebration. I would encourage
each of us to think about what we as individuals and together as groups can do to make this world a better
place. Somehow I think that would be the
best present of all. In your observance of the holiday, whatever that may be, I
hope you will take the time to read one of the versions of A Christmas Carol to recall its powerful
message. It comes in short and long forms and is ideal for reading aloud. And in
the words of Tiny Tim, “God bless us, everyone!”

About Me

I taught high school English for 32 years, all at Robinson High School in Fairfax, VA. My students called me "Mr. V," and I was fortunate to have some terrific young people in my classes. I have made contact with some of them, particularly on Facebook, and enjoy seeing what they're up to.

My other nickname, given to me by our then assistant pastor Jim Vaught, is Lieutenant Dan, after the Gary Sinise character in Forrest Gump, one of my favorite movies. I never got anywhere near military service, so the name is somewhat ironic. I greatly admire our troops and respect their sacrifices.